RWBY:deLUXe edition
by SwordOrPen
Summary: A wolf faunus who's more brawns than brains, a cunning human boy and his adorable yet terrifying little sister, and a bat faunas who can barely look at another person without fainting. Doesn't sound like your average team of hunters does it? Join team LUX as they turn Beacon upside down. This isn't just RWBY. This is RWBY: DeLUXe Edition! Collab between I and the Dark lord of chaos
1. Chapter 1

Max's POV.

Encounters.

They are parts of our lives, our experience depends on those encounters. No one is like any other, everybody is unique which makes meeting new people even more unique. This is what life is about, well in my opinion anyway.

"Wake up, we're almost at Beacon." I felt a hand on my shoulder that was shaking me. I stirred, when did I fall asleep? The travel must have tired me out more than I thought it would. I opened my eyes and saw Selene looking at me. Her black tipped light brown hair fluttering in the wind and her green eyes staring at me. Let's not forget her fair skin. Man, why do little sisters have to be the one weakness of all men, no way am I going to be able to go back to sleep with her looking at me like that.

"Yeah thanks, I must've dozed off." I stretched up and looked through the window, I could see a city not so far away, the kingdom of Vale huh? So this is where the Vytal Tournament is being hosted. Still, coming all the way from Lux Academy to Vale and attending Beacon so we could participate in the tournament, I find it kind of annoying. I mean we could have just attended on the eve of tournament and not 1 to 2 months before it begins. What was the headmaster thinking? Oh well, he is calling the shots and there's nothing I can do about it, wouldn't want to cause yet another brawl, this time at Beacon, because I was upset. On the plus side I get to be a tourist. However my train of thoughts were interrupted, yet another time, by Skoll.

"Yo sleepy head, finally came back to the land of the living?" Asked Skoll with his usual smirk that just screamed confidence. His red wolf ears sticking out of his short red hair, green eyes filled with amusement, red tail swinging behind him and his slightly tanned skin. When I was sitting it always looked like some kind of muscle giant was next to me, but only when I was sitting.

"Man, can I not spend 5 minutes when I'm awake without hearing you making comments about everything?" The question in itself was useless because it was rhetorical, nothing stopped Skoll from being Skoll. Which is a very confident guy who could take on the world solo and survive.

"No luck, that's just how I am deal with it." He replied while shrugging in complete honesty. Well I can't hate him, he is nice guy after all. You just have to learn how to bear with him... which can take a long time.

I got up and looked around. We were alone since this ship was rented specially for us, only our team would represent Lux. My gaze fell on our team last's member.

"Hey Liam, why don't you come over here?" I asked the bat faunus who jumped a bit at hearing my voice. He turned a bit and I took in his appearance yet another time, still trying to get the sleepiness out of me. His short puffy black hair, his red eyes that would make you think they were somehow glowing. His black bat wings, ears and tails giving him a somewhat scary appearance, like a vampire of some sort, his pale brown skin not helping. But what made most people not afraid of him is his expression which betrays his feelings. He is extremely timid, not around us of course but everything else and, most obviously, other people. He is easily startled by noise or even children but with he went through, it was to be excepted.

"Y-yes, I'm c-coming." He stuttered, shaking a bit. But made his way over to us none the less. He sat down looking around, trying to avoid eye contact. I sighed at Liam's demeanor.

"Listen Liam, I get why you are like this all the time but try to relax would you? Nothing is going to happen to you as long as we are around so stop worrying so much, just calm yourself it will do you some good." I told the bat faunus. He always felt insecure, well at least he talked to us but that's his best social skill. He is completely afraid of social interaction so he just might try to run away if he meet someone he doesn't know, well this is what would happen if it wasn't for the fact he would probably start shaking in fear and get into the fetal position.

"I-I'm s-sorry. I'm just... a little n-nervous I guess." He stuttered, completely nervous.

'That's the understatement of the year...' I thought to myself.

"Oh come on Liam, lighten up. You're competing in the Vytal Tournament! You should be excited not terrified." Said Skoll while patting Liam on the back, which practically sent the bat faunus flying.

I sighed at the redhead's clumsiness. The guy just didn't know his own strength. "You know, not everyone is as overconfident as you Skoll, or cocky."

"I'm not cocky. I'm confident." He retorted with his smirk, I sighed.

"Well it's not like you'll listen to me anyway." I turned back to Liam. "But he does have a point you know. This is pretty nice, even if the timing is a bit irritating. " A smile began to spread across my face, why deny the fact that this tournament was going to be awesome? It will be great, and there will a bunch of new people to meet.

"Well, while it is a good thing we shouldn't get too confident. We may end up against foes with skills we never faced before. " Selene said, always trying to be the mature one or at least the voice of reason. It's funny because she is the youngest of us all, with Skoll being the oldest, me the second and Liam the third youngest. And yet she tries to responsible, that is one the thing I can't help but feel proud of.

An hour later

"Woohoo! Get ready Beacon because the wolf is coming for ya!" Skoll howled while looking through the window. I massaged my forehead, trying to numb the rapidly growing headache.

"Calm down Wolfy. We don't even know what we're in for when we get there." I tried to reason a bit with him, not that I was successful mind you.

"Why does it matter? I can take whatever they throw at me! Just you wait, I'm gonna be kicking butts left and right!" He kept boasting.

"Not if you get too cocky. You do that and you might just be the first one to lose so get your head in the game. " I said it in a scolding manner, which he didn't appreciate.

"I told you I'm not cocky, I'm confident! There's a difference!"

"Really? Because it sounds like you're being cocky to me."

"You take that back!"

"Hmm..." I put my finger to my chin and thought about it for a second. "Nope, no can do." I said with a tone of certainty.

General POV

Meanwhile, while they're arguing, Liam and Selene were watching the verbal fight. Selene was giving them a blank stare while Liam was just smiling sheepishly. The former heavily sighed.

"I swear, those two just can't stop arguing for five seconds can they?" she asked, the question was rhetorical in itself.

"I-I guess it c-can't be helped." Liam replied.

"I figured as much." She said before turning to face Liam. "So what do you think we're in for once we get there. I heard that Beacon has some pretty tough hunters and huntresses."

"I don't know. Honestly I d-didn't even t-think I'd even be selected as a Lux a-academy representative. " He started fidgeting, clearly timid.

"What are you talking about? Of course you were selected. Your skills with your blade katanas are the best in Lux academy, so there would be no way you weren't selected for this." Selene praised Liam, trying to ease the conversation. But Liam just blushed in embarrassment.

"I-I d-don't know about the best b-but..."

"Oh relax. You'll do fine. Just do your best okay" She was smiling as she said every word, she meant what she said. Liam smiled back, happiness in his eyes."A-alright, I'll try... Thank you." Those were the final words as the pilot spoke over the ship's intercom.

"We will be landing in a matter of seconds now, I hope you had a nice trip. I wish you good luck." The pilot announced as the ship made contact with the ground. Selene and Liam looked back at their teammates, only to find them picking up their stuff happily, forgetting they were fighting seconds ago.

"Finally, what are you waiting for?" Skoll happily asked, Selene could only roll her eyes at her teammate's antics while Liam chuckled nervously.

(Line break)

Glinda's POV

 _'They seem to be right on time.'_ I thought as the ship landed. An hour ago Ozpin told me to welcome the exchanged students from Lux Academy, although Ironwood sent soldiers to accompany us and that bothered me greatly. My thoughts were interrupted as the ship's bay door were opened. Four people left the ship. The tallest was a faunus with short red hair and wolf hears, with a red wolf tail. He had green eyes and he was about 7'0". The second was a girl with brown hair and black tips at the end. She also had green eyes, but a lighter version than her teammate and fair skin. She was about 6". The third person was looking around, obviously nervous. He was a faunus, sporting short dark puffy hair and red eyes, along with tanned skin. He had black bat wings, ears and tail, standing at 6'5". And closing the march was another man with short black hair and a white streak on the right side that spiked upward, slightly tanned skin, black eyes and a scar over his right eyebrow in slash-like fashion, he was about 6'6". They were all wearing the same school uniform which consisted of black blazer with red outlines, a red shirt underneath with a black tie and black pants. Although the last one was wearing black gloves. They stopped in front of me, as they did the soldiers readied themselves as if they expected the exchange students to jump at them.

"Welcome to Beacon, I hope you had a nice flight. I am Glinda Goodwitch." My voice made it look like I was irritated, which was the truth, but they didn't seem to notice, except the bat faunus who visibly flinched when I spoke.

"Thank you, we are glad to be here." The man with red hair smiled, baring all his teeth and showing what seemed to be fangs. "My name is Skoll, no surname, and this team's leader. " He finished with a confident tone, which drew sighs from his teammates.

"Who in their right mind would appoint someone like you team leader?" The one in the back said with his palm against his face. Skoll huffed. "Well, whatever. I am Maxus Gladius, but please call me Max. " He said with a kind smile. The girl nodded her head at her teammate's words.

"I can't disagree with that statement. As for me, my name is Selene Gladius, Max's little sister. Please don't mind my teammate's behavior, he can be quite... unruly if left alone." She ended her sentence with a knowing tone, making Skoll grunt in indignity. So far they seemed a happy bunch, despite sending jabs at each other they didn't look like they actually fought about it. I then looked at the team's last member who had disappeared during the exchange. I began looking for him, only to find him behind Maxus, visibly uncomfortable with having me in front of him. Max was looking at the retreating teenager with sympathy in his eyes.

"His name is Liam Zal. You'll have excuse his behavior, he isn't very good with people." He explained. I was intrigued, but did not push the matter further.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Now if you would follow me please, I will show you the way to Beacon. " I told them as I began walking, soon followed by them and then by the soldiers.

(Line break)

Liam's Pov.

We obediently followed Mrs. Goodwitch as she showed us around the school. I slowed my pace so I could remain at the back of the group; a habit I picked up when I was a kid. Turns out that if I stay quiet enough and remain out of people's way, no one notices me. But to be honest, I mostly just wanted to remain as far away from Mrs. Goodwitch as can. It's not that I don't like her or anything like that, she just really unnerves me.

Why you ask? Well, she gives off this major authority vibe. Like if I dare question her or even step one foot out of line, she'd crush me. The fact that she seemed to have an entourage of soldiers might have something to do with that. Then there's the way she spoke to us. It took a lot of effort on my part not to make a break for it when she greeted us. She sounded very irritated, like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. I really hope I don't have any classes with her. I shook my head in an attempt to erase those thoughts.

 _'Stop it Liam! You are NOT going to wuss out before the tournament even starts. Besides, I'm probably just over exaggerating. I mean she can't be that bad can sh-Sweet Glob is that a horse riding crop?!'_

I immediately looked away in hopes of focusing on something a little less...unsettling. Mrs. Goodwitch started explaining the basic things we should know about this place and I tried my best to listen, I really did. But her voice just sounded so intimidating. Instead I chose to take a good look at the interior of the place as we walk through the halls. Anything to get my attention away from Mrs. Goodwitch. The colors here sure are bright compared to Lux where everything was either black or crimson with a splash of white here and there.

My thoughts then went to what Selene said about this school having strong hunters and huntresses. Skoll and Max are probably excited about that and it's hard to tell with Selene. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it though. I wasn't the worst hunter at lux but I wouldn't call myself the best of the best. I just hope I don't have to fight someone too powerful. Not yet at least. I don't want to lose the first match I fight after all.

I began to wonder what the students here are like. If the males are anything like the ones in Lux academy then I best try to avoid them. Most of the guy back home were brutes who were only interested in destroying their opponents. Skoll is a prime example of that. Me? I'm better with dash and slash attacks. I prefer working on my speed and offense more than anything else. As you've probably already figured out, I picked on a lot by the other students because of my hit-and-run technique. I suppose my incessant stuttering doesn't help either. I remember Max once saying that my fighting strategy was a lot like my conversation skills.

That made me sigh. I often find myself wishing I could be brave like Skoll and Max. At least they can talk in front of large of people and make new friends. I can barely talk without stuttering or in worse cases, fainting. I try to be brave but it never works. Selene says I'm just shy, Skoll says I'm antisocial and Max says that I'm "not much of a conversationalist". I guess he's not wrong; conversations aren't exactly my strong suit nor is socializing in general. Fortunately I have friends like Skoll and Selene who talk enough for all four of us.

I snapped out of my trance when I noticed how quiet it became. Mrs. Goodwitch wasn't explain anything about the school anymore and Skoll hasn't made a single funny comment. 'Strange, Skoll isn't usually quiet for this long.' I thought. I turned my attention back to in front of me only to be surprised to see that there was no one there.

 _'H-Huh?! W-Where did everybody go?' I thought as I frantically looked around but I couldn't find anyone. 'Oh no! I must've zoned out!'_

That's when I realized something: I'm ALONE in an academy filled with students who could come up to me at moment.

 _'I have to find the others!'_

(Line separation)

General Pov

"And these are the dorm rooms. You'll be staying for the duration of your stay. You'll also be attending the classes." Explained Glynda as they passed the dorm rooms.

Selene let out a bored sigh as she continued to follow her. She didn't find any point in this. Wouldn't it be easier to just give them a map and let them explore on their own? At least then they wouldn't have to listen to her go on about something she wasn't really paying attention to.

"Well this has to be the most lively tour we've ever been on, hey Liam?" She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She got no response. "Liam? You listening?" She asked as she turned around to address her timid team mate. When she saw that he wasn't there she immediately grew concerned.

"Well that can't be good." She said to herself. She knew that Liam was NOT someone to be left alone in public areas and nothing is more public than an academy filled with teenagers. She looked back at Skoll, Max and Glynda who didn't seem to notice that she was no longer following them nor did they notice Liam's disappearance.

 _'They probably wouldn't even notice I'm gone.'_ She thought before going back the way they came. _'I better find him before some random guy tries to talk to him. Or worse, a girl.'_

(Line separation)

Liam's pov

'Where are they?!'

I was about five seconds away from having a panic attack. I went back the way I came but they were there. Now I'm frantically walking around this place hoping to catch a glimpse of someone I know. And when I "walking" I really mean "slightly slower running". It may have started off as walking but it's definitely not that now. Thankfully the hallways were empty. Have any of them even noticed I'm missing?

'Probably not. I'm surprised they even notice when I AM there.' I thought to myself. I was probably right too. Skoll and Max are probably too busy arguing and Selene probably zoned out like I did. She never was one for listening to teachers.

Great, just freaking great. My first day and I already end up lost. I've only been here for a few minutes and already I find myself in trouble. That's gotta be some sort of record. 'Alright, no need to panic Liam. What would Skoll do in this situation? Probably open doors randomly. The last thing I need is for me to accidentally drop on someone in their…..private moment. Max? He'd ask for directions. That would mean talking to someone else so that option is out. Selene? She doesn't get lost. Ever.' I thought.

General Pov

Liam kept trying to find a way out of his situation, still moving at a quick pace. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice another figure walking towards him; she was so focused on her book that she failed to notice him as well. He duly noted the footsteps of another person but didn't stop his pace until he ended crashing into her, bringing both of them to the ground with a painful thump. He heard a few lighter thumps which probably meant something else hit the floor too.

"Ow..." He moaned. He was about to frantically apologize but was cut short when he opened his eyes and saw who he walked into.

The person was a human female with the whitest hair he had ever seen. Her skin extremely pale, almost transparent. She wore a snow white dress and had silver earrings. Liam flushed red as he looked into her ice blue eyes. Eyes that did not look happy.

"Ugh! Get off me!" She yelled, snapping him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Hyaa!" He yelled as he all but jumped off of her. "S-Sorry! I-I w-was l-lo-"

"Darn right you weren't! How about next time you actually watch where you're going instead of daydreaming like some sort of dimwit!" She kept yelling after getting back to her feet. She was shorter than him, he noticed. Her forehead only reached his nose. Unfortunately that didn't make her any less terrifying.

"I-I d-didn't mean t-to-"

"To what? Run me over like some sort of blind rhino?" She exclaimed as she picked up her things. He wanted to help but he was rooted on the spot in fear.

"I-I d-didn't m-m-mean to-"

"Sure you didn't! I'm SURE you don't MEAN to be a klutz! Just like I'm sure you don't MEAN to not look in front of you while you're walking!" She exclaimed, her voice dripping with anger and sarcasm.

Liam's body was shaking in fear. This was NOT helping with his timidness problem. He could feel the familiar sensation of tears beginning to well up in his eyes, just begging to be released. He felt his body begin to sway a little bit and he immediately knew he was starting to feel faint. He closed his eyes so that he couldn't see her continue to verbally rip him to pieces, praying to whatever great deity watching this to grant him a quick death.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"W-Well I-"

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Yelled a voice that Liam never thought he'd be as happy to hear as he did at that moment.

(Line separation)

Selene was ticked.

She had been looking for Liam when she found him being yelled at by some white haired girl. The sight one of her best friends being insulted the way he was filled her with righteous anger. Normally she'd just go over there and tell her to leave him alone but the look on Liam's face drove her over the edge. He looked beyond helpless. She wasn't sure if he was going to cry, faint or even both but she did know one thing.

Somebody was going to lose some teeth.

(Line separation)

Glynda was just about to conclude the tour. She stepped in front of one of the dorm room before turning her attention Max and Skoll. "This is where you'll be staying. Your schedules will be delivered to you tomorrow. If you have any questions ple-"

She cut herself short when she noticed the lack of teammates in front of her. The only ones here were the two very tired looking males who looked like they were about to fall over from exhaustion. "Where are the other two?"

Skoll and Max blinked in confusion at her question before turning around only to see that half their team was gone. Forgetting the fact that he was exhausted, Max immediately began to panic. "Oh snap! C'mon Skoll, we better them fast before-"

"Before what dude?" Skoll interrupted. "What's there to worry about?"

"We left Liam alone in a place where he doesn't know anyone! Do the math!"

"Yeah so? How much trouble could he possibly get into? If anything happens to him I'm sure Selene will-" He immediately stopped talking as he finished that sentence in his head. Then he suddenly let out a yell. "WE GOTTA FIND THEM!" He panicked before running off the way they came with Max hot on his tail.

Glynda blinked as he watched them run faster than anyone she'd ever seen. She stood there for a second before letting out a huff and walking in the other direction. She'd let them handle this on their own ,she thought.

(Line separation)

Selene stormed over to the white haired girl, her body absolutely radiating killing intent. She took a brief look at Liam, who had yet to move a muscle since her arrival, and clenched her fists. If there was one thing she hated, it was bullying, especially those who bully faunas. And nobody, NOBODY, bullies her timid teammate and gets away with it!

Selene stood between Liam and the white haired girl and sent her a death glare strong enough to send a nevermore running. "How dare you! What gives you the right to yell at him like that?!"

The white haired girl sent her a death glare of her own before responding. "Well for your information, he crashed into me! Maybe if you kept a better eye on him I wouldn't need to drill the information into his head!"

"Excuse me?! How dare you talk to him like that! It's not his fault he has poor eyesight! He's a BAT faunas for pete's sake!"

"Well then maybe YOU should keep a better leash on your teammates!"

Meanwhile, Skoll and Max were running then they've ever run in their entire lives, hoping they could find they're teammates before they do anything...unpleasant. Fortunately they had Skoll's heightened sense of smell to guide them.

"They're close, I can smell it! This way!"

Max nodded as he followed his wolf faunas companion. It didn't take long to find them after that. Unfortunately, by the time they got there it was already too late. The expression on Selene's face made it very clear what was going to happen next.

Someone was going to die.

Max's eyes went as wide as dinner plates when he noticed Selene reaching for her weapon. Ignoring the fact that he knew it was probably a bad idea, he immediately ran over. Just before Selene could unleash hell on the white haired girl, Max managed to grab hold of her arm and her waist, stopping her from moving. Selene as she struggled to get out of her older brother's grip, wanting nothing more than to teach the white girl a lesson she won't soon forget. Said girl watched the scene in front of her with a blank expression before responding.

"Hmph, I don't have time for this. I've got classes to get to." And with that she briskly walked past them as if nothing happened. Skoll watched her as she walked past him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

 _'That girl...Why does she seem so...familiar. Hmmm...white hair, ice blue eyes, I feel like I know those traits from somewhere but...where?'_ He thought as he racked his brain for a solution. It frustrated him since he didn't like not know things. When he couldn't find any answer he simply shrugged. 'Eh, I'm sure it'll come to me eventually. After all, if it was important I'd probably remember it right?' He then turned his attention to a more important matter: making sure Selene didn't kill her.

Once she walked around the corner and was out of sight, Max let go of Selene who was not happy with him at the moment. " What the heck Max?! Why did you stop me?!" She yelled.

"Selene, we've only been here for about twenty five minutes. I do NOT want to get kicked out because you murdered one of the students." Max explained.

"I wouldn't ha-"

"Remember what happened at Vexes academy?" Max warned, stopping whatever response she had. Selene simple crossed her arm and pouted. Max had to look away. He hated when she did that.

"I didn't murder him."

"But you did incapacitate him and I think he might still be in therapy." Skoll added. Selene sent him a glare. Skoll simply responded with a shrug.

"Pfft, whatever. She would've deserved it." She grumbled before turning her attention to Liam who had not made a sound nor has he moved a muscle since she showed up. The only difference him now and him before she showed up was that his eyes were open. "And you! How could you let her treat you like that?! It's not right!"

She waited for his response but got only silence. She soon grew concerned by her friend's lack of response as did Skoll and Max.

"Liam? Uh, buddy? You okay?" Asked Max as he waved his hand in front of Liam's face. He didn't even blink.

His body started to sway again and Skoll immediately knew what was about to happen. "Oh no, somebody catch him, I think he's gonna-" But it was too late. He's eye rolled to the back of his head before he suddenly fell like a puppet having freed from its strings.

"Liam!" They yelled in unison. Max ran over to him and put his fingers on his neck. He sighed in relief when he felt his friend's pulse. "He's okay. He just fainted." Selene in relief.

"Come on, let's him to our dorm. Skoll, grab his legs."

(Line separation)

Sometime later, Liam was stirring from his unconscious state. The first thing that struck him were the voices. He could hear his friends speaking but couldn't make what they were saying. He tried to open his eyes but it was all blurry. He tried to get up, he then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"All right, easy you just woke up and sudden movements are not advised. You were out cold for quite a bit" Max said as he helped Liam get up. His grip on Liam strong so that he wouldn't lose balance from getting up too fast. Liam nodded, not speaking just yet. However he didn't brace himself for his protective teammate's comforting hug. As Selene snatched him in her embrace, Liam blushed.

"When will you make us stop worrying, and next time you disappear I won't let you off the hook got it?" She wasn't crying but worried nonetheless, but she was hugging him really tightly leaving him without air.

"Selene, you might want to let go." Max advised her as the colors started to leave Liam's face, even if there wasn't much color to begin with. Selene looked confused before realizing her... mistake.

"I'm sorry Liam!" She let him go, he started breathing but not before falling back again. However Skoll caught him before he hit the floor.

"Hey, we just got you back, even if Selene hugs are that good you should still keep some air." He teased them, but it only resorted with Selene glaring at him and Max slowly switching to his 'Older brother' persona. Liam looked away, visibly bothered by something else, something Skoll didn't miss. "So what's on your mind?" The question brought an end to the glares and the focus back to Liam.

"I-I'm sorry for earlier." Guilt could be seen in his eyes. "If I had just played attention to Mrs. Goodwitch, this wouldn't have happened." He looked down, waiting for them to argue with him or whatever, but that didn't happen. Instead Skoll bonked his head. Liam started rubbing the painful spot and looked at his wolf comrade.

"What are you talking about? You don't know that unless you can predict the future. And you're the one who was in pain out there not us so we're the ones who have to ask how you're holding up." Skoll was giving him a toothy grin as he spoke. Selene took Liam's hand, as if to support him. Max's hand was once again on Liam's shoulder and looked directly in his eyes.

"Stop worrying so much, I can say that whatever will happen you can always count on me and Selene." He paused a moment, Skoll rose an eyebrow. "Although I'm not sure about Skoll. He might run off before you can ask him anything." He added while shrugging comically.

"What was that you-" Skoll literally jumped in action, going to take it out on Max. As the two started fighting, Selene couldn't help but laugh. Her brother and her teammate always seemed to be able to lift the tense atmosphere. However what surprised her was to hear Liam also laughing, a true heartily laugh. Max and Skoll heard it and couldn't help but laugh as well.

(Line separation)

At the conference room. Ozpin was introducing the teams from the different academies around Remnant that would participate in the Vytal Tournament. So far, no one was excepting anything from the teams, be it from their looks or their demeanor. Until Ozpin introduced one of the last team.

"From Lux Academy, only one team has been sent. So they will be called Team LUX, if you would step forward." As he finished his sentence, the four members walked on stage. What immediately struck the assembly was the pressure they were exuding, like a dangerous opponent entered the arena. Skoll was grinning, his looks making him look wild. Max was standing next to him, hands in his pockets, eyes sharpened, his expression emotionless as if he was watching his prey. Selene mimicked her brother's expression while her arms were folded. Liam, although hesitant, had determination in his eyes as he standing tall. Max examined the reaction of each student, ranging from gulps to smiles of excitement. He lingered on teams that reacted a bit if not to the pressure.

' _Not many people seem to be able to resist the pressure. Guess that decreases the number of tough opponents.'_ Max thought as he finished examining the room. The plan had been simple from the start. Finding the suitable opponents as fast they could then study them for the big day. After their introduction was done, they got off stage and joined the other students. As they did Max took out his scroll and started making a list. By the time he was finished, the assembly was over.

"Finally, I thought I was going to fall asleep while standing up." Skoll yawned and stretched, Selene shaking her head at her teammate's antics.

"Well I can't deny that it was somewhat boring but at least we got some useful information didn't we?" She asked as he turned her head to her brother who was holding his scroll up with several people displayed on the screen.

"Yes we did although I'll need to refine it to actually figure out who's strong enough. " He started playing with the phone while they were walking to the dorms. "And Liam, good job not fainting in front of such a crowd. You didn't waver a bit, so I'm proud of you." He praised his teammate, who blushed and started scratching his head.

"T-thanks, it m-means a lot." He said while looking directly in Max's eyes, that was when his ears perked up. "Watch o-" But he was too late as someone bumped into Max, causing him to drop the scroll on the floor.

"Careful, that thing isn't chea-" But Max couldn't finish his sentence as he heard someone shout, directly in his ears.

"It's you!" Weiss made her presence known, something Max's eardrums didn't need.


	2. Chapter 2

"My ears!" Max shouted/cried as he clasped both hands on his ears in a desperate attempt to tone down the assaulting noise, to no avail. He had dropped his scroll in the process, which was now lying on the ground. Skoll's ears had perked up too while he was as still as a statue. Liam had somehow disappeared (again) after hearing the shout. Selene, whose attention had been elsewhere, immediately recognized her and slowly, almost menacingly, turned around. She now faced the heiress with a glare that caused a shudder to run up Max's spine. Said heiress was looking at the spot that Liam used to occupy before she shouted, but the bat faunus was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait, where did he go?" She asked, baffled by her target's sudden disappearance, and looked around. She failed to notice Skoll shivering uncontrollably. Yang, Blake and Ruby were wondering what was happening between their teammate and the transfer students, Blake especially paid attention to Selene, who seemed very likely to attack Weiss for whatever reason, before her attention moved to Skoll. Her eyes widened as she watched him turn his head to check on his bat friend who was still shaking in fear.

'No way. It can't be…'

"Looks like Weiss is making friends." Said Yang, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Should we do something?" Asked Ruby, who looked slightly confused at the scene before her.

"You do something, I'm placing bets!" Yang replied causing Blake to sigh. Yang just never ceased to amaze her sometimes. Finally, Selene was about to move when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Keep it down will you White? Shouting in people's ears isn't exactly the best way to make a good impression." Max was still rubbing his temples trying to tone down the fact that his brain was buzzing. Weiss decided to let that comment slide (for the time being) as she was for too busy searching for the timid bat faunus.

"He was the one who bumped into me!" Weiss said as she kept looking for him. "Where is he anyway? He was there a second ago."

"Short, scrawny, red eyes, got two leathery bat wings sticking outta his back?" Asked Skoll. Weiss nodded and he shrugged in response. "Haven't seen em." Weiss growled and her eye twitched in frustration. She was about to reach out and wrap her fingers around his neck when she suddenly noticed a pair of black, leathery bat wings sticking out from behind Skoll back. She felt her eye twitch before asking,

"Oh really? Care to explain those wings you've suddenly grown then?" Skoll blinked in confusion before he noticed the only flaw in his plan. He turned his attention back to the white haired heiress.

"Oh these? Well, I've been trying out this new ointment and "

"Move it fleabag!" She exclaimed, shoving him out of the way and coming face to face (well, sorta) with a still hiding bat faunus. "You!" The poor faunus screamed in fright and made a break for it. He probably would've made it out of the conference room if Max hadn't been holding onto his collar. To any innocent bystanders, it looked as if he was running in one spot.

"Sorry Liam but you are NOT getting lost again." Muttered Max as he blocked with his arm the path, before letting go causing Liam to run right back to the angry looking snow princess. He swore that the air around them got a few degrees colder as she stared him with those icy blue eyes.

"You owe me an apology for knocking me down earlier!" She exclaimed.

"B- But d- didn't I a- already "

"WITHOUT the stuttering. It's incredibly annoying." Selene growled in anger. She was about to step in but was held back by Max who simply shook his head. She decided to listen for now though she still glared at the Schnee princess with anger in her eyes. Max sighed at his younger sister's behavior. It seemed that no matter where they went, no matter how many schools they've been kicked out of, her overprotective nature always seemed to get the better of her. Normally he was cool with it but they had just arrived at beacon and he wanted to at least check out the sites before getting kicked out. Besides, he doubted that Ozpin guy (who kinda gave him the creeps by the way) would be happy to hear that one of his students mysteriously disappeared. That'd be one hell of an awkward conversation.

"Easy there Snowy." He said, hoping to sort everything out so he could go to his dorm and take a nap. "We just got him back up and we're fresh out of smelling salts so if you would just "

"Snowy?!" Oh how he wished he had chosen his words more carefully. "Do you have any idea who I am?!" She asked, now directing her anger at him. Well at least she wasn't scaring Liam anymore.

""Weiss Schnee." Stated Skoll who had been surprisingly quiet.

"Gazuntite." Said Selene.

"No I'm mean her name is Weiss Schnee! That's where I remember her from! She's heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world. It's also pretty infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." Stated Skoll causing his team to look at him like he had just grown a second head.

"Why is that the first thing everyone knows about me?" Muttered the Schnee but the rest of team LUX were too busy staring at Skoll to take any notice.

"Um, Skoll...how do you know that?" Asked Max.

"I read it in this month's dust magazine." He replied.

"You read dust magazine?" Asked Selene.

Skoll simply shrugged before replying. "I read it for the articles. I also learned how to make some sick dust jewelry." To prove his point, he reached in his collar and pulled out a sparking red amulet. "See? Pretty cool right?"

"Ooh, think you could make something for me? Momma needs a new pair of earrings." Said Selene, her eyes sparkling at the thought of free jewelry.

"Solid dust material huh? I could craft a pretty sweet dagger with this…" Max muttered as he inspected the amulet like an expert jeweler.

"C Can you make anything in black?" Asked Liam.

"Sure. All I need is some dust, a really big tub of butter and "

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" Yelled Weiss. Her voice fell on deaf ears as they continued to eye Skoll's jewelry. Meanwhile, the rest of team RWBY was just enjoying the show. Ruby was looking Weiss with a worried look on her face while Yang was eating some popcorn while laughing at Weiss' angered expression. She almost choked three times. Neither of them noticed Blake glaring holes into the wolf faunus' head.

"How much longer do you think it'll be before she explodes?" Asked Ruby as she watched Weiss trying to get their attention.

"I'd give it five minutes, give or take two. What do you think Bla hey! Where ya going?!" Asked Yang as she watched Blake make her way towards team LUX. "Damn, just when it was getting good too…" She muttered before following her teammate with her sister close behind.

"You know Weiss, if ya want, I could give ya a more private lesson on dust jewels. I'm sure we could we could discuss lesson plans my dor "

"Not even in your dreams mutt!" Exclaimed Weiss.

"Welcoming as ever aren't ya snow queen?" Joked Yang as she threw an arm around Weiss, who just grumbled and shook it off. "So, are you gonna introduce us to your new friends?" She asked, gesturing to team LUX. Weiss folded her arms and scoffed in annoyance before replying.

"They are NOT my friends. They're a group of troublesome riff raffs."

"Riff raffs? What is that, some kind of snack?" Asked Max.

"Th- That's a bit harsh…" Liam muttered. He had taken the time when Weiss was angry at Max as an opportunity to hide behind Selene. It wasn't easy since she was a few inches shorter than him but nothing worth doing ever is. He sighed in relief when his comment went unnoticed by the snow heiress before the sound of someone gasping caused one of his ears to suddenly twitch. He gulped and slowly turned his head in the direction of the sound, expecting to see some hulking figure looming over him. He wasn't expecting to come face to face with the most adorable little red riding hood he had ever seen. They stood there for a moment and just stared at each other. He blinked in confusion while she stared at him with wide eyes. She slowly raised her hand and pointed at him, causing him to blush in embarrassment.

"H- Hello…" He said. When he got no response, his blushed deepened. He started feeling around his face "W- What? I Is there s- something on my face?" He asked. He was expecting a 'yes' or 'no'. What he wasn't expecting was for her to scream and run to the blonde haired girl. _'Was it my breath?'_ He wondered.

"V- V- Vampire!" She yelled, pointing right at him. They all looked at him for a moment before looking back at her.

"Uh...what?" Asked Max.

"Vampire! He's a vampire! He's going to suck our blood!" There was an awkward silence as Liam tried to comprehend what was going on. This girl had just showed up, stared at him, screamed then called him a vampire. He wasn't sure if that was rude or flattering.

"Um Ruby, I don't think he's a vampire." Stated the blonde haired girl. The girl now known as 'Ruby' shook her head in defiance.

"He's a vampire! Look at him! Red eyes, fangs, bat wings, quiet nature, how does that not scream 'vampire'?!"

"Vampire….?" Liam whined, hanging his head low in embarrassed. Skoll gave the depressed faunus a pat on the back. "Hey, it's not the worst thing you've been called."

"Alright, everyone just calm down." Said Max. "Look, clearly we all got off on the wrong foot here. How about we just start over? I'll start. My name is Max and this is my little sister, Selene." He said while placing his hand on Selene's shoulder. "She's "

"Oh my glob!" She yelled, quickly clearing the gap between her and Ruby. "You are so adorable! Just look at these plump little cheeks!" She exclaimed as she pinched the poor girl's cheeks. "They're so soft and squishy! I just wanna put them in my pocket an "

"Easy there Squishy Queen." Max said as he pulled his sister away from the little ridinghood, much to her displeasure. "What did I tell you about pinching people's cheeks withouttheir permission?" He asked causing Selene to bout at him. He sighed at her immaturity.

"Right. Now where was I? Oh yeah, the bat faunus is Liam." Liam blushed when they turned their attention to him. He raised his shaky hand and nervously waved.

"HH- Hello…."

"And the wolf faunus is "

"The name's Skoll Crimson!" He yelled while pushing Max out of the way. "The toughest, coolest and all round best member of the group! Now if you ladies would kindly make your way to my dorm in a single file we ca "

"Hello." Skoll froze in mid sentence. His eyes widened and the hairs on his tail stood on end. He slowly turned in the direction of the voice. There stood a stoic looking female sending him a polite smile.

'Oh you have got to be kidding me!' He thought as she moved closer and stuck her hand out. Her smile said polite but her eyes were another story. He didn't have to be a solve faunus to see it.

"My name's Blake. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh...it's… A pleasure to meet you too." He said as he shakily shook her hand. His team watched the interaction with dumbfounded expressions.

"Did Skoll just shake her hand…?" Asked Selene.

"He didn't even try to flirt…" Muttered Max.

"Well I'm Yang Xiao Long but you can just call me Yang." Announced the blonde who apparently oblivious to what was going on. "And this is my sister, Ruby. You've already met Ice Queen here." She said, gesturing to the heiress who scoffed in annoyance. Skoll wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying. All of his attention was on what he knew was a cat faunus. The tight grip she still had on his hand meant that he was either in deep trouble or she seriously needed the bathroom. Either way he didn't want to be around to see what happens next.

"Well it was nice meeting all of you but I gotta…" He trailed off as he tried to think of something. Unable to come up with anything, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind "groom my tail!" That was probably the dumbest excuse in history if the looks he was getting were anything to go by. Max and Selene were sending him deadpanned looks while Liam just cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"You...have to what now?" Asked Selene.

"Uuuh...I have to groom my tail…"

"Since when do you "

"Look, you got your weird thing and I have mine! Deal with it!" He yelled before suddenly making a break for it, leaving the two teams standing there trying to figure out what just happened.

"Well...that just happened." Yang commented before turning to Max. "He always like that?"

"I want to say no just for formality's sake but the truth is that I stopped caring a long time ago." He deadpanned. He let out an over dramatic sigh. "He does have a point though. We do have things to do. See ya around ladies." And with that, he followed after his wolf faunus partner with his sister following close behind. Team RWBY watch them leave with expressions of confusion, annoyance and suspicion on their faces. I'm sure you can guess which expression belonged to who.

"Wow, shady much?" Commented Yang.

"I told you they were riff raffs."Weiss scoffed. "Can you believe the audacity of that wolf faunus? And don't even get me started on the girl. I swear it's that kind of attitude that gets you killed in a fig "

"Um…"

They froze. Slowly, they turned around only find Liam standing behind them, still trying to look as small as he could. They all stared at him without saying a word except for Ruby who made a 'squeak' sound and hid behind her older sister.

"How long was he standing there?" Yang whispered to Blake who only shrugged in response. He blushed and fiddled with his fingers in an attempt to ignore the fact that he was now the center of attention. There was an awkward silence as they waited for someone to say something, anything. Eventually (and surprisingly), Liam took a deep breath and gathered what little courage he had before speaking.

"Um...I- I...uh…" Well that didn't last long. He felt so retarded under their staring. At this point, he decided to just cut his losses and get the heck outta there with what little dignity he had left. He had already forgotten what he was going to say anyway. "I- It was nn- nice meeting you." He muttered. He hastily made his way past them, keeping his head down to avoid contact. Just as he was walking past Weiss, he stopped and faced her. There was another awkward silence before he nervously muttered "S-S- Sorry again for bumping into you." and left to join his team.

"So who wants to get cookies ?" Ruby asked excitedly, causing the fuming Weiss to sigh at her leader's antics, Yang smirked, but Blake still looked in the direction where Team LUX went, her eyes focused. She was suspicious of one person in particular, a certain redheaded wolf to be precise.

* * *

They had gone back to their room, with Max immediately on Skoll's case regarding his apparent stiffness and lack of… well Skoll during his introduction to Blake. The wolf Faunus ignored Max at first, but it quickly escalated. Liam walked into the room as Max, who was sitting on Skoll's back, was using tweezers to pull Skoll's hair from his tail. Skoll was cry yelling in pain and slamming his hand repeatedly on the ground.

"Come on, speak up already! Don't make this any more painful for you!" Max said as he started pulling on the tail. The wolf faunus tried to move his arms but Max's legs prevented him from moving. Selene watched this but didn't interfere as she herself wanted some answers to Skoll's behavior. Liam watched the scene and after a while, joined his female teammate who was sitting on the bed.

"Ow, this is animal abuse ya know " Skoll tried to say but the words died in it's mouth when Max kept grabbing his tail but pulled one of Skoll's legs, making it stretch further than what you would normally expect and eliciting yet another cry of pain from the wolf Faunus.

"Sorry, but I'll only hear the answer to my question." Max said as he was now sitting on Skoll's knees while said wolf faunus' stomach was still on the ground. Skoll while hurting, a lot, didn't concede. Max waited for a few more seconds before gaining a new spark in his eyes, one that promised new levels of pai excitement. But before he could partake in his new idea, Selene and Liam interrupted them.

"Liam and I were wondering, does it have something to do with you being a former member " But Skoll was the one to interrupt her this time.

"Yeah, it's about that." His voice was completely still, even though Max was still tortur- interrogating him. Selene asked another question but this time to her brother.

"Why did you do all that when you knew the answer?" Although it sounded more like an accusation than anything, Max adopted a thinking pose while Skoll looked revolted. Liam thought it made sense, Max was perceptive and they all knew each other so Max was probably aware from the beginning as to why Skoll was so evasive. And knowing him he probably already had the answer. Liam's train of thoughts was interrupted by a shrug from Max.

"Cuz I wanted to, don't really need another reason." Skoll scowled, he felt as if someone slapped him across the face for no reason. Max dropped from his spot and stretched "That was a good workout though." He finished as he looked around the room. Skoll got up and started caressing his tail.

"You didn't have to take it out on my tail you know…."

"Hey it was the easy approach, I could have tried bending your legs the other way." He said nonchalantly. "Anyway, onto more serious matters." He said with a grave tone. Skoll gained a focused look, both Selene and Liam standing up and sharing the same look as their wolf teammate. They knew from Max's tone that it was very important, he only used that kind of tone when Lien, or food was involved. A tense silence filled the room, the only sound that could be heard was their breathing. Taking in a deep breath, Max exclaimed "We need to remodel the room." His three teammates blinked, then Selene smashed her fist in her palm while Skoll made an 'oh' expression, Liam took on a more pensive pose.

"It makes sense, if we have to stay here until the main tournament begins, we should make it so that we live comfortably for the duration of our stay." Selene nodded at her own logic, with Skoll following it.

"Plus, Goodwitch didn't say anything about not changing the room itself now did she?" He grinned as he thought what he could do, Liam in the same state as him. Lux was really lenient in that regard. As long as the students got good scores you would have some benefits others wouldn't. Especially if you were a top student, then you could pretty much get away with anything as long as you didn't get caught red handed doing it. That led to a lot of trouble for Liam who struggled in the beginning, but eventually he became good enough to be selected with his team as the representative for Lux. "Woohoo! Let's tear this place apart!" Cheered Skoll, interrupting his train of thought and causing their only female team member to face palm. As the they began making the dorm their own, Max walked over to one of the already neatly made beds. He gave it a quick onceover before making his decision.

"Mm….this bed is kinda cramping my style. I don't think I really need one anyway."

"M me too." Liam added. He had tried to sleep in a bed like a normal faunus, he really did, but the covers just felt so itchy against his wings. He much preferred sleeping upside-down instead. Skoll had laughed the first time he heard him say that, which led to Selene promptly glaring at him with killing intent. Needless to say, Skoll didn't find it so funny anymore. Max laughed when he learned what happened and jabbed Skoll every time he could with that fact.

"Then it's settled." He declared before turning to his redheaded friend. "Skoll, the window please."

* * *

"Ah, now this is the life." Sighed Jaune. He truly enjoyed days like these. He had no homework (or at least that's his excuse), no bullies were out to get him and it was a nice sunny day. It truly didn't get any better than this. "Nothing like good old fresh air to send a man to paradise." He exclaimed as he raised his head to get a better feeling of the Sun's rays on his face. His closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but notice how shady it suddenly was. He looked upward to find the source of this strange phenomenon only to see two rectangular objects in the sky that...were heading straight for him. "Oh no…"

* * *

"Huh?" Said Liam, causing Selene to stop what was doing.

"Something wrong?"

"No I just...I thought I heard someone yell "My leg"."

"Eh, it's probably nothing." Said Skoll as he dusted his hands. Meanwhile ,Max, Selene and Liam had already started unpacking their stuff. Max had started setting up two poles in front of the beds, after he did he took out a long sheet that had two ropes at each end. At the same time, Liam and Selene were drilling holes in the opposite walls high above everything else and proceeded to set up a metal pole that connected from a wall to the other. By the time they were nearly done, Skoll began lifting the second bed to mount it on the last. When they were finally finished, the room had been changed quite a bit. Now, a bunk bed was in the left corner of the room next to the window. In front of it a hammock was set up, the final touch was a long metal pole that was set up above them. Team Lux seemed please with their work.

"Now this is what I call a place you can spend your day in." Max nodded, eyes closed at as he spoke. "Next is either setting up the screen and whatnot or getting prepared for the afternoon classes. What do you guys think?" When he finished every other head in the room looked at him, Skoll wore a 'are you kiddin' me' expression, Selene had an eyebrow raised and Liam was wide eyed.

"Care to repeat?" Skoll asked, wanting to make sure he heard right. He didn't doubt what he heard, not when Max was involved. He really had knack for jinxing things way too often.

"Afternoon class, starting at 2 PM and finished at 6 PM." He repeated, Liam slumped.

"A already? I thought we wouldn't start until tomorrow." His voice sounded a bit wimp, clearly not motivated by the truth. After the day he had, he was really hoping to take a long nap on his new pole. Max shrugged, eliciting an aggravated sigh from Selene.

"The irony, we escaped one school only to end up in another."


End file.
